“This is tough,” said an emotional EHS coach Brett Hefner just a few moments after the game. “For two quarters, we didn’t play well, and then the final two quarters, we played very well. We just came up a little short. But I am super, super proud of our guys.”

It certainly was a tale of two halves. The first, thanks to some EHS mistakes, belonged to Murphysboro, while the final two quarters were all Hearts.

Effingham had trouble with the snap throughout the game and it started on the Hearts second offensive play. The ball got loose, bounded fairly high in the air and Murphysboro’s Aiden McNitt fell on it, giving the Red Devils the ball at the EHS 29.

The Hearts defense, which was stellar throughout, stopped the drive at the 4, but the offense was unable to move the ball and was forced to punt. The snap, however, went over punter Dawson Whitten’s head and out of the end zone for a safety, putting the Red Devils on top, 2-0, at the 4:31 mark of the first quarter.

“We’ve been having trouble with our snaps the last few weeks,” Hefner said. “It’s been frustrating.”

The problems continued throughout the first half. Twice more, the exchange between the center and quarterback was mishandled, resulting in two more fumbles, although neither was lost. And, there was another snap that sailed over Whitten’s head in the second period, but the punter was able to corral it and still manage to get the kick away.

Offensively, the Hearts did nothing during the first 24 minutes. They ran only 11 plays and had 23 total yards and one first down. It was totally opposite of what this unit had been producing throughout the playoff run.

Murphysboro and its triple option had trouble moving the ball on the ground, but McZeke completed all six of his pass attempts, including one on a fourth down play, that helped the Red Devils cross the goal line twice in the opening half.

McNitt had a one-yard scoring run early in the second quarter and the Red Devils then put their best drive of the game together to score on the last play of the first half. They drove 63 yards on 12 plays, capped by a five-yard burst from Dezmond Clark that sent Murphysboro to the locker room with a 14-0 lead.

“We just didn’t make any plays in that first half,” Hefner noted. “At halftime, I told the kids we just needed to keep playing. We decided to go more from the gun and try to eliminate the snapping issues we had the first half.”

It worked.

The Hearts quickly got back into the game on their opening possession of the third quarter. An 8-yard completion to Cam Kalber and a 19-yard strike to Jett Gillum got the drive moving. Quarterback Nate Shackelford had two runs of eight yards and then found Tristin Duncan behind the Murphysboro secondary for a 33-yard scoring play.

That capped a 9-play, 77-yard march that closed the margin to 14-7 and certainly re-energized both the team and large contingent of Effingham fans that filled Jack Klosterman Field.

Effingham’s defense almost completely shut down the Red Devils attack in the second half. And the EHS offense just kept applying the pressure.

Even though their next possession stalled at the Murphysboro 35, that red-shirted defense got the ball right back when Gunnar Franklin intercepted a McZeke pass at the Hearts 31.

After an incomplete pass, Chase Woomer broke loose for a 14-yard burst and then the Shackelford-to-Duncan combo struck again. The senior quarterback connected with Duncan on a short pass. The junior receiver broke one tackle and then used his speed to break free and race down the near sideline for a 60-yard score that knotted the game at 14-14 with 8:40 remaining in the semifinal contest.

“The kids started making plays and we certainly had the momentum. Our offense finally got into a rhythm,” Hefner said. “They just made good play after good play after good play. It was difficult conditions out there today, but our guys are going to keep playing. They don’t play the score. They just play the play.”

The previous week, the Red Devils found themselves in a similar situation against Bishop McNamara with the score tied 27-27. They proceeded to put together an impressive final drive and scored the winning touchdown with less than a minute to play.

They did run eight plays on the ensuing possession, but once again, the Hearts defense came up strong and forced a punt, giving Effingham the ball at its own 23 with 3:21 still remaining.

The Hearts rode the arm of their record-setting quarterback. Shackelford connected with Kalber for 18 years, followed by completions of 22 and 29 yards to Duncan and another 11-yard strike to Gillum that gave EHS a first and goal at the six.

With the excitement soaring, the unfortunate fumbled exchange followed, setting up a devastating and sudden end to a great season.

“Murphysboro is a good team and you have to tip your cap to them. But they had to earn it today,” Hefner said. “I will never forget our kids and the run they made in the playoffs. I will always remember how they played and competed and never gave up.”

After being held down in the opening half, the Hearts offense was very much Hearts-like in the final two quarters, racking up 268 yards. Shackelford ended his fantastic season completing 12-of-18 passes for 230 yards and Duncan hauled in seven receptions for 162 yards and two TDs.

The Hearts finished with an 11-2 record, becoming the first team in school history to win more than 9 games in a season.

“Any time you make a run like we did, you’re going to have great memories,” Hefner said. “It’s really hard to say goodbye to these seniors. We have such great kids.”